Dr. Altiero received a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1969 and a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering in 1970, a Master of Arts degree in mathematics in 1971 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in aerospace engineering in 1974 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Following postdoctoral appointments at the University of Michigan and at the Department of the Interior’s Twin Cities Research Center, he joined the faculty of the Materials Science and Mechanics department at Michigan State University in 1975. At Michigan State, he advanced through the faculty ranks to the rank of Professor in 1986 and, in 1990, he was named the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies of the College of Engineering, where he had administrative responsibility for the research, technology transfer, graduate studies and distance education operations of the college. In January 1998, he was named Chairman of the Department of Materials Science and Mechanics and he served in that position until June 2000. At that time, he joined the faculty at Tulane University as Dean of the School of Engineering. In 2006, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Tulane University was restructured and Altiero was named the inaugural Dean of the School of Science and Engineering. He served in the position through August 2017. For a brief period in 2016, he served as Tulane's Interim Provost.

Altiero has held visiting positions at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy, as a Fulbright Scholar, and at the Technical University of Aachen, Germany, as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. He has published extensively in the areas of computational mechanics, fracture mechanics, geo-mechanics, and bio-mechanics and has received external funding for research, teaching and other projects from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Economic Development Administration, Ameritech, Consumer's Power, the Edward Lowe Foundation, Ford Motor, Garrett Turbine Engine, General Dynamics, General Electric Foundation, General Motors, the Industrial Technology Institute, and the Michigan Department of Commerce. He has taught a wide range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and, in 1991, received the State of Michigan Teaching Excellence Award. He holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University.

Altiero is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and a member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society and Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society.

He has served on the Louisiana Board of Regents Advisory Council, the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Bioinnovation Center, the Board of Directors of FIRST in Louisiana-Mississippi, the Board of Directors of the Greater New Orleans Science and Engineering Fair, and the Board of Directors of the Greater New Orleans Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Initiative (Core Element). He also has served as a member of the ASEE Board of Directors, as President of ASEE, as Chairman of the ASEE Engineering Deans' Council, as Chairman of the ASEE Engineering Research Council, as Chairman of the Council of Deans Subcommittee of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Aeronautics Research Advisory Committee, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Department of Energy's National Institute for Global Environmental Change, as a member of the ASME Task Force on Federal Engineering Research Funding, as a member of the Louisiana Governor’s Advisory Task Force on Funding and Efficiency of the Department of Environmental Quality, as a member of the Louisiana Governor’s Emergency Preparedness Advisory Council, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), as a member of the Board of Directors of Wink Companies, LLC, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America (ASTRA), the Louisiana Innovation Council, the EPSCoR Committee of the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Nominating Committee for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authorities, the Executive Board of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), and the Board of Trustees of the Advocates for Science and Math Education (Sci High).